Worsening Plight of African Americans and why it DOES matter to Muslims
As if more proof was needed, another article was posted at MSNBC about the worsening plight of African American men in America.
Making matters worse, a forthcoming book, which includes a study of nearly 1,500 private employers in New York City, found that black job applicants with no criminal records weren’t any more likely to get a job than white applicants who were just out of prison.
This should serve as a further warning signal to African-American Muslims (especially those outside of W Deen Mohammed’s community) that if more emphasis is not put on paternal investment and education of the children, then they will not be able to compete in the future, and Allah knows best.
African Americans are being outdone in other areas as well. Consider also that Southeast Asian businessmen successfully petitioned the federal government to be declared “Asians” so that they’d be eligible for disadvantaged minority status.
Some, even African-American Muslims, have said: “What does this have to with Muslims?” or “This is not OUR problem”
In response, once again, three reasons:
a) Many of these same people are accepting Islam.
b) They are bringing these issues into Islam with them. and
c) We don’t live in a vacuum. Many of these people are our neighbors and in the case of African American Muslims…They are FAMILY
Also consider that many of the African American Muslims who embrace Islam in jail often return to jail in significant numbers. I fail to understand the insistence on sticking one’s head in the sand on very real problems that we as a community and our future generations are facing.
And finally on the issue of jobs and competition, one thing rarely mentioned in the illegal immigration debate is that it is driving large numbers of African-Americans out of the legitimate workforce. This is going to create a massive social problem and the Muslims (especially the African Americans) are indeed affected by this. Fact is that the illegal immigrants are not going to compete for the high level white collar jobs.
It is also a problem for Latinos as well. Latino gardeners, for example, will continue to make low wages as long as there is an endless supply of illegal immigrants coming in every year from Mexico. Bob Samuelson of Newsweek said:
“An increase of 10 percent in new immigrants can reduce the wages of earlier immigrants by 9 or 10 percent, says a report from the Urban Institute in Washington.”
How much moreso would this affect the African-Americans? If more and more African Americans Muslims are unable to financially establish and support Islamic Institutions because of this dire situation, then what will become of many masjids and Islamic schools?
Unfortunately, the Government seems to be showing no signs of ever cracking down on illegal immigration, so this problem will continue for the forseeable future, and Allah knows best. So we must take steps to prepare our children to be more marketable and compete for the higher wage professional jobs while maintaining their Islam.
When you bury your head in the sand, guess what? The rest of your body is still exposed.
Filed under: Black American Muslims, Muslim Isolation, Race
One of the most absurd things that I hear is when African-Americans Muslims say that they are no longer black or a part of the community. By nature of their very existence they are part of the community and what effects the greater African-American community effects them.
I can’t say that I have heard an African American Muslim actually deny that he is black, but I have heard several that think the society around them does not have any effect on them and pull themselves away
Every immigrant group to America and even their nativeborn children have suffered some type of discrimination and bigotry from one extreme to another. But there is no need for "preferential treatment" nor for "Affirmative Action" for such groups.
Affirmative Action is meant as a solution of gerations of discrimination, segregation and social injustices that cannot be overcomed any other way and that there is some type of need for retribution.
Even a recently arrived African from Africa or the Caribbean does not have the historical pattern of racism. We either start to take proper care
of those that have suffered literally for hundreds of years or continue to ignore them.
AA. I think it is an excellent opportunity for Muslims to help the injustice inflicted upon the Blacks in this country. This may used as Dawah too.
I would urge you to look into it. Thanks.
I have heard African-American Muslims say that they arno longer black or African-Americans they will say ” I am Muslim, khalas” but they arent getting pulled over on the way to fajr because they are Muslim. Also, Somalis will say they are not black and I tel the maybe you are not black in Africa but you are here.
[...] Successful Black Woman Syndrome According to the society watchers and commentators, Oprah has it. Condi Rice has it. Even you or I, dear readers, may have it. Brother Tariq Nelson has written some sobering articles about the marital structure of the African-American Muslim community. I haven’t been “in the community” that long to confirm anything, but as marriage and family become more passe, we may began to see the ugly rise of divorce in the American Muslim umma. After all, it would be silly to think that we are immune to the same social problems as everyone else. But getting back to SBW… There’s a growing number of African-American women pursuing college degrees and becoming career women and/or self-employed women. Unfortunately, the same has not been true for African-American men. There’s a myriad of reasons for this but I believe that it’s slowly becoming easier to be a Black woman than it is to be a Black man in this country. No matter what people thought about me in my bare-headed days, no one ever treated me with the fear that I would rob, rape or murder them. For many African-American men, that perception shapes their reality as they are out in the world trying to make a decent living. And with the rising success of African American women in various careers, this may create tension between couples where the male is not fully comfortable with the female as being a sole breadwinner or the one who brings home most of the bacon. And we all know how some forms of feminism create distance and competition between men and women, instead of nuturing cooperation and teamwork. So here’s the scenario of a single successful Black woman. She goes to college and does pretty well, gets a job where she rises up the corporate ladder. While succeeding financially, she’s looking for a mate who shares her similar interests, outlook on life and ambition. Unfortunately, for her age bracket (25-35), the men may only be interested in playing the field. These men may not be ready to settle down so she finds herself successful but alone. It doesn’t necessary mean depression and spinsterhood but over time, she becomes comfortable with being alone. By the time some men in her community are ready to get married, she’s not interested. She already has her life together and she’s financially stable. Furthermore, with out-of-wedlock births representing 35%, she may not want to deal with a man who has children for other women. While she would enjoy the benefits of marriage, she’s not willing to deal with jilted ex-girlfriends from the past and their children. You know, baby mama drama. She has some options. If all people involved are mature enough, she may marry her love and accept his children. If she can’t, she may choose to marry outside of her race but risk being branded a race traitor (especially, if he’s white). In theory, as far as the Muslim community is concerned, race shouldn’t matter but I think we all have some stories about how that doesn’t always work like that. But this article is the one that scared me. Marriage is for white people, by Joy Jones. “Marriage is for white people.” That’s what one of my students told me some years back when I taught a career exploration class for sixth-graders at an elementary school in Southeast Washington. I was pleasantly surprised when the boys in the class stated that being a good father was a very important goal to them, more meaningful than making money or having a fancy title. “That’s wonderful!” I told my class. “I think I’ll invite some couples in to talk about being married and rearing children.” “Oh, no,” objected one student. “We’re not interested in the part about marriage. Only about how to be good fathers.” Uh, when did this happen? Did I miss something? Am I really out of the loop? I can’t even wrap my brain around this. When did marriage become so despised, especially since some of us pride ourselves on being “conservative”? No, no! I’m in the denial. I need to do further research on this. Is it the gansta culture, the pimp culture, where women are seen as sexual conquests rather than life partners? After all, you can count the number of rap songs on one hand that extol the virtues of marriage, companionship and fidelity. Is it the jaded opinion of youth who see the high rates of divorce and think, “What’s the point? Marriages don’t last anyway”? And how will this affect the Muslim community where we have so many other problems? Now, in light of all this stuff, I’ve been told that I should…what’s the word…settle. I shouldn;t try to find a brother that I think I could have a successful marriage with but someone…period. Just get married because you’re not getting any younger. I think this mentality alone can cause young single Muslims to make big mistakes. There’s really no good in scaring sisters into marriage and threatening them with spinsterhood. Someone pointed out my high standards which are: a brother who prays and practices Islam, a well-adjusted person (I’m loony enough for everyone) and suitable income. I’m not into the “he has to be a doctor-lawyer-engineer-rich dude” stuff. But I guess I’m just stuck up. It’s okay if some brother demands a virgin or sister with no kids but I can’t dare say I want to marry a brother who makes prayer and fasting a priority. @@ [...]
[...] This as well would not necessarily be the case as long as there is lacking paternal investment, a stigma of marriage as being something negative is perpetuated (SBW syndrome), and a lack of concentration on education and nutrition for those that will be those future polygamous husbands. [...]
immigration in definately hurting everyone.in the state of georgia,construction has been taken over by illegals.brick masons who once made 17.00 an hour ,have been replaced by illegals making7.00 an hour.and the govt says WE SUPPORT A GUEST WORKER PROGRAM?just who are these people talking to?if the countrys leaders would just listen to what the people are telling them,nobody wants illegals here.even legal immigrants are against them cause they undercut them as well.this so called border wall if and when its ever built,could very well be a wall too late.besides as 9/11 proved.people get visas all the time come to america and then vanish.thats just what we need right?
[...] encourage you to stop taking care of responsibilities that are right around you and take up our insane cause - of which we are not exactly sure what it is other than random [...]
first of all i would like to say i have heard african amer. muslims say that once they become muslim there is no one race I BEG 2 Differ. WE were born of african decient and yes we have takin on this deen but i have to agree with my brother “who are our nieghbors & family?” they are all our color and the problem lies in our community especially within our youth, here in cleveland we have younge brother killing each other everyday we have muslim community activist here and we work around the clock tring to mediate and intervien in these affairs but still something bigger MUST be done. Im open to opinions. Further more in cleveland they are crackin down on the “imagrent” in our areas i believe its deeper than taxes its that this country has been races,and still is. The willy lench sendrum is in full swing if you dont know read the paper.as musims we MUST be BIG impact on our community We need to be on the street like them “witnesses” giving douwwa even to them if they listen(lol) May Allaah help us INSHALLAAH.
[...] Right. This has nothing to do with Islam, but it is brought into Islam along with other baggage. [...]